Wed, 09/18/2013 - 16:11

Belmont Park: Shanghai Bobby gets first test since injury in Aljamin

Barbara D. Livingston
Friday's race will help Todd Pletcher determine what's next for juvenile champion Shanghai Bobby.

This content is part of a free preview of DRF Plus. Click to learn more.

ELMONT, N.Y. – From what he has seen in the mornings, trainer Todd Pletcher believes Shanghai Bobby is ready to flash the form that made him last year’s champion 2-year-old male when he returns to the races in Friday’s $100,000 Aljamin Stakes at Belmont Park.

“I think the way he’s trained indicates to me he’s as good as he’s ever been or possibly even better but there’s no information like a race,” Pletcher said Wednesday at Belmont.

Wed, 09/18/2013 - 15:41

Churchill Downs: Fusaichiswonderful makes first start going from Pletcher to McCauley in Dogwood

Tom Keyser
Fusaichiswonderful is likely to make her first start since coming to Tevis McCauley's barn in the Grade 3 Dogwood on Saturday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tevis McCauley has racked up 104 wins and $2.2 million in stable earnings since taking out a trainer’s license in August 2009. That means he is only about 3,250 wins and $250 million shy of what Todd Pletcher has amassed in his 17 years of training.

Wed, 09/18/2013 - 15:35

Remington Park: More Than Even aims for fourth straight win in Te Ata Stakes

More Than Even will attempt to win her fourth consecutive race Friday night at Remington Park in Oklahoma City in the $50,000 Te Ata Stakes. The seven-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies is one of two stakes on the card. The $50,000 Tishomingo is led by Grade 2 Risen Star alumnus Agent.

Wed, 09/18/2013 - 15:18

Louisiana Downs: Cates has pair for Lady Razorback Futurity

BOSSIER CITY, La. – With the arrival of fall this weekend, the thoughts of many people with ties to Arkansas turn to football and the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. For trainer Al Cates and his large contingent of Arkansas horse owners, however, thoughts of wild pigs take on a completely different tack – the Razorback and Lady Razorback futurities.

Wed, 09/18/2013 - 15:08

Barretts at Fairplex: Curvy Cat class of Bangles and Beads Stakes

Shigeki Kikkawa
Curvy Cat faces a softer group in Friday's Bangles and Beads than she did in winning the B. Thoughtful (above) at Hollywood in the spring.

POMONA, Calif. – The summer campaign by Curvy Cat turned out to be too ambitious.

Curvy Cat faced the circuit’s leading female sprinters Reneesgotzip and Gypsy Robin, and her the best finish in three Del Mar starts was a distant third in an allowance.

Friday at the Los Angeles County Fair, Curvy Cat gets relief. She drops into the $50,000 Bangles and Beads Stakes, a 6 1/2-furlong stakes for fillies and mares that sets up a big closing weekend for the Jerry Hollendorfer stable.

Wed, 09/18/2013 - 14:51

Florida notes: Best Plan Yet to face arch-rival again in In Reality

Coady Photography
Best Plan Yet (center) wins the Foolish Pleasure on Saturday. He goes next in the In Reality.

MIAMI – Trainer Stanley Gold couldn’t wait to stretch Best Plan Yet around two turns in last Saturday’s Foolish Pleasure Stakes. And after watching the son of Hear No Evil register a one-length victory over longshot Union Cash for his first stakes victory, he’s even more eager to bring him back for a third try at division leader My Brown Eyed Guy in the 1 1/16-mile In Reality Stakes at Calder on Oct. 12.

Wed, 09/18/2013 - 14:24

Northlands Park: Boomtown Brat set to turn tables on Ready Racer

Ready Racer easily handled Boomtown Brat when they met in the $50,000 Sun Sprint Championship on Sept. 7, but the shape of a $35,000 optional-claiming race that will serve as Friday’s feature at Northlands Park could swing the advantage to Boomtown Brat. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up drew six horses, but it looks like a battle between Boomtown Brat and Ready Racer for the top spot.

Wed, 09/18/2013 - 14:07

Delaware Park: Gary Capuano saddles 1,000th career winner

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
Gary Capuano won his 1,000th race as a trainer Wednesday at Delaware Park.

Veteran trainer Gary Capuano recorded the 1,000th victory of his training career Wednesday, when Miss Speaker captured the second race at Delaware Park in Stanton, Del.

Capuano, 49, is best known for his work with Captain Bodgit, the narrowly beaten runner-up in the 1997 Kentucky Derby. Capuano has trained since 1988.

Capuano, a Maryland native and lifelong resident, is the younger brother of trainer Dale Capuano, who passed the 3,000-win milestone in February 2012. They are the sons of Phil Capuano, a longtime owner-breeder who died earlier this year.

Wed, 09/18/2013 - 14:01

Woodbine notes: Overheard using La Lorgnette as stepping-stone to Valley View

Michael Burns
Overheard (No. 2) rallies to beat Akron Moon by a nose in the Alywow Stakes at Woodbine on June 9.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Malcolm Pierce won his fourth stakes of the meeting for Sam-Son Farm when he sent out His Race to Win to capture last Sunday’s Grade 3 Ontario Derby. On Saturday, Pierce will look to win his second stakes of the meeting for Josephine Abercrombie’s Pin Oak Stable when he sends out Overheard in the $125,000 La Lorgnette, a 1 1/16-mile Polytrack race for 3-year-old fillies.

Wed, 09/18/2013 - 13:38

Churchill Downs: Big Lute returns from knee surgery in allowance sprint

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Big Lute was so impressive in winning his career debut last winter that Steve Hobby put the colt on the Triple Crown trail just 17 days later. The results were disappointing, but easy to comprehend, considering Big Lute emerged from the Feb. 18 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park with a small knee chip.

Surgery was performed, recuperation went smoothly, and on Friday the comeback begins when Big Lute returns to action in a first-level allowance race at Churchill Downs.